“You’ve been checking up on me for five years?” This was beyond anything I could have imagined.
“Checking up sounds bad. I was simply making sure you were all right. That you had what you needed, that you weren’t drowning in debt, or foreclosing on your house, fighting an illness. Stuff like that. I didn’t want to impose on your life, but I wanted to know you were okay. If that was wrong of me, well, I’m not sure I’d take it back. It’s what led me here, back to you.”
“So, your PI told you that my brother had died. How did that change anything?”
He didn’t answer right away, just looked me right in the eyes for the longest time. Then, he finally said, “I guess I didn’t want you to feel like you were alone.”
I’d felt alone, in one way or another, most of my life. The only time I hadn’t was when Marcus was alive and Riot was in my life. Those few weeks had been gloriously happy and full. But as I drew in a deep breath, feeling the air filling my lungs, pressing my chest outward, I knew there was room enough inside me for more love. I hadn’t lost Marcus’ love, it was still within me, but I had an empty chamber that had been waiting for my father to fill it.
I could be mad at my father forever. I could tell him I never wanted to see him again, but the hole would still be there, and I would always be partially empty. I was too young when it happened to appreciate my mother’s death as a sign that you shouldn’t ever take life for granted, but Marcus’ passing definitely was starting to settle that notion into my heart. All my life I had wished my father would come back and tell me it had all been a mistake and that he’d loved me all along.
And here he was, doing exactly that.
“And now?” I asked, hoping he would understand what I was asking so I didn’t have to say it out loud.
“And now I’m hoping you’ll let me be your father again.”
“It’s been a really long time since I was someone’s daughter.”
“You’ve always been my daughter.”
I smiled at those words, because regardless of the entirely crappy way he’d left, it was nice to know he’d thought of me, that he’d regretted the decision to leave. If there was one thing I was guilty of, it was pushing people I cared about away. Perhaps we were both done pushing love away.
“Where do we go from here?” My voice was quiet but strong.
“I think we take it slow. I’d like to spend some more time with you, perhaps drive up again in a few weeks.” He looked hopeful, as though he were afraid I would turn him away.
“Listen, I’m glad you guys are going to reconnect, and I understand you need to take things slow, but I’m not going to be taking it slow. I need your phone number and we’re going to become best friends,” Rachel said, pulling her phone out of her purse.
I laughed out loud. “You remind me a lot of my friend Megan.” I gave her a warm smile. “I’d love to be your new best friend.”
Riot’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, bring me closer to his side, and then his lips brushed against my temple.
We spent the next few hours in that coffee shop getting to know my sister and my father.
Chapter Nineteen
She Took Me With Her
Riot
The next couple of weeks were spent watching Kalli come completely out of her shell. I’d seen her unreserved in the past, seen glimpses of her true nature when she wasn’t busy protecting and guarding the walls she’d built around her heart. But ever since she’d reconnected with her sister and father, it was as if she’d found the key to unlock the best parts of her. It was amazing to watch, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, spreading its wings in the sunshine, tentatively testing out its ability to fly.
She really had become best friends with Rachel. After about three days, I stopped asking who she was texting when she’d stare at her phone and laugh uncontrollably. The next weekend after they’d met, Rachel had driven back up to LA and spent the weekend with Kalli while I worked. I had to admit, for two women who hadn’t spent a day together in their whole lives, they were eerily similar. They laughed at the same things, had the same taste in almost everything, and sometimes even said the same exact thing at the same time. It was astonishing to watch, but even more exciting to watch the way the relationship lifted Kalli up.
Kalli also spoke to Kevin often. Not daily, but enough times during the week that he was up to date. Sometimes their conversations were short—just check-ins. Other times it would be hours of her listening to him tell stories from when she was younger that she couldn’t remember, or her telling him about her life previous to their reconnection.